M. Tripathi

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment, a dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota), was cooled and filled in February 2013. We report results of the first WIMP search dataset, taken during the period April to August 2013, presenting the analysis of 85.3 live-days of data with a fiducial volume of 118 kg. A profile-likelihood analysis technique shows our data to be consistent with the background-only hypothesis, allowing 90% confidence limits to be set on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering with a minimum upper limit on the cross section of $7.6 \times 10^{-46}$ cm$^{2}$ at a WIMP mass of 33 GeV/c$^2$. We find that the LUX data are in strong disagreement with low-mass WIMP signal interpretations of the results from several recent direct detection experiments.

We report constraints on spin-independent weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP)-nucleon scattering using a 3.35×10^{4} kg day exposure of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment. A dual-phase xenon time projection chamber with 250 kg of active mass is operated at the Sanford Underground Research Facility under Lead, South Dakota (USA). With roughly fourfold improvement in sensitivity for high WIMP masses relative to our previous results, this search yields no evidence of WIMP nuclear recoils. At a WIMP mass of 50 GeV c^{-2}, WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross sections above 2.2×10^{-46} cm^{2} are excluded at the 90% confidence level. When combined with the previously reported LUX exposure, this exclusion strengthens to 1.1×10^{-46} cm^{2} at 50 GeV c^{-2}.

We present constraints on weakly interacting massive particles (WIMP)-nucleus scattering from the 2013 data of the Large Underground Xenon dark matter experiment, including 1.4×10^{4} kg day of search exposure. This new analysis incorporates several advances: single-photon calibration at the scintillation wavelength, improved event-reconstruction algorithms, a revised background model including events originating on the detector walls in an enlarged fiducial volume, and new calibrations from decays of an injected tritium β source and from kinematically constrained nuclear recoils down to 1.1 keV. Sensitivity, especially to low-mass WIMPs, is enhanced compared to our previous results which modeled the signal only above a 3 keV minimum energy. Under standard dark matter halo assumptions and in the mass range above 4 GeV c^{-2}, these new results give the most stringent direct limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section. The 90% C.L. upper limit has a minimum of 0.6 zb at 33 GeV c^{-2} WIMP mass.

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) collaboration has designed and constructed a dual-phase xenon detector, in order to conduct a search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), a leading dark matter candidate. The goal of the LUX detector is to clearly detect (or exclude) WIMPS with a spin independent cross-section per nucleon of 2×10−46cm2, equivalent to ∼1event/100kg/month in the inner 100-kg fiducial volume (FV) of the 370-kg detector. The overall background goals are set to have <1 background events characterized as possible WIMPs in the FV in 300 days of running. This paper describes the design and construction of the LUX detector.

We present experimental constraints on the spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon elastic cross sections from the total 129.5 kg yr exposure acquired by the Large Underground Xenon experiment (LUX), operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota (USA). A profile likelihood ratio analysis allows 90% C.L. upper limits to be set on the WIMP-neutron (WIMP-proton) cross section of σ_{n}=1.6×10^{-41} cm^{2} (σ_{p}=5×10^{-40} cm^{2}) at 35 GeV c^{-2}, almost a sixfold improvement over the previous LUX spin-dependent results. The spin-dependent WIMP-neutron limit is the most sensitive constraint to date.

The scattering of dark matter (DM) particles with sub-GeV masses off nuclei is difficult to detect using liquid xenon-based DM search instruments because the energy transfer during nuclear recoils is smaller than the typical detector threshold. However, the tree-level DM-nucleus scattering diagram can be accompanied by simultaneous emission of a Bremsstrahlung photon or a so-called "Migdal" electron. These provide an electron recoil component to the experimental signature at higher energies than the corresponding nuclear recoil. The presence of this signature allows liquid xenon detectors to use both the scintillation and the ionization signals in the analysis where the nuclear recoil signal would not be otherwise visible. We report constraints on spin-independent DM-nucleon scattering for DM particles with masses of 0.4-5 GeV/c$^2$ using 1.4$\times10^4$ kg$\cdot$day of search exposure from the 2013 data from the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment for four different classes of mediators. This analysis extends the reach of liquid xenon-based DM search instruments to lower DM masses than has been achieved previously.

A comprehensive model for explaining scintillation yield in liquid xenon is introduced. We unify various definitions of work function which abound in the literature and incorporate all available data on electron recoil scintillation yield. This results in a better understanding of electron recoil, and facilitates an improved description of nuclear recoil. An incident gamma energy range of O(1 keV) to O(1 MeV) and electric fields between 0 and O(10 kV/cm) are incorporated into this heuristic model. We show results from a Geant4 implementation, but because the model has a few free parameters, implementation in any simulation package should be simple. We use a quasi-empirical approach with an objective of improving detector calibrations and performance verification. The model will aid in the design and optimization of future detectors. This model is also easy to extend to other noble elements. In this paper we lay the foundation for an exhaustive simulation code which we call NEST (Noble Element Simulation Technique).

We present the first experimental constraints on the spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon elastic cross sections from LUX data acquired in 2013. LUX is a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota), which is designed to observe the recoil signature of galactic WIMPs scattering from xenon nuclei. A profile likelihood ratio analysis of $1.4~\times~10^{4}~\text{kg}\cdot~\text{days}$ of fiducial exposure allows 90% CL upper limits to be set on the WIMP-neutron (WIMP-proton) cross section of $\sigma_n~=~9.4~\times~10^{-41}~\text{cm}^2$ ($\sigma_p~=~2.9~\times~10^{-39}~\text{cm}^2$) at 33 GeV/c$^2$. The spin-dependent WIMP-neutron limit is the most sensitive constraint to date.

The first searches for axions and axion-like particles with the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment are presented. Under the assumption of an axio-electric interaction in xenon, the coupling constant between axions and electrons, gAe is tested, using data collected in 2013 with an exposure totalling 95 live-days $\times$ 118 kg. A double-sided, profile likelihood ratio statistic test excludes gAe larger than 3.5 $\times$ 10$^{-12}$ (90% C.L.) for solar axions. Assuming the DFSZ theoretical description, the upper limit in coupling corresponds to an upper limit on axion mass of 0.12 eV/c$^{2}$, while for the KSVZ description masses above 36.6 eV/c$^{2}$ are excluded. For galactic axion-like particles, values of gAe larger than 4.2 $\times$ 10$^{-13}$ are excluded for particle masses in the range 1-16 keV/c$^{2}$. These are the most stringent constraints to date for these interactions.

We present measurements of the electron-recoil (ER) response of the LUX dark matter detector based upon 170 000 highly pure and spatially uniform tritium decays. We reconstruct the tritium energy spectrum using the combined energy model and find good agreement with expectations. We report the average charge and light yields of ER events in liquid xenon at 180 and $105\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{V}/\mathrm{cm}$ and compare the results to the NEST model. We also measure the mean charge recombination fraction and its fluctuations, and we investigate the location and width of the LUX ER band. These results provide input to a reanalysis of the LUX run 3 weakly interacting massive particle search.

The Noble Element Simulation Technique (NEST) is an exhaustive collection of models explaining both the scintillation light and ionization yields of noble elements as a function of particle type (nuclear recoil, electron recoil, alphas), electric field, and incident energy or energy loss dE/dx. It is packaged as C++ code for Geant4 that implements said models, overriding the default model which does not account for certain complexities, such as the reduction in yields for nuclear recoils (NR) compared to electron recoils (ER). We present here improvements to the existing NEST models and updates to the code which make the package even more realistic and turn it into a more full-fledged Monte Carlo simulation. All available liquid xenon data on NR and ER to date have been taken into consideration in arriving at the current models. Furthermore, NEST addresses the question of the magnitude of the light and charge yields of nuclear recoils, including their electric field dependence, thereby shedding light on the possibility of detection or exclusion of a low-mass dark matter WIMP by liquid xenon detectors.

We present an updated model of light and charge yields from nuclear recoils in liquid xenon with a simultaneously constrained parameter set. A global analysis is performed using measurements of electron and photon yields compiled from all available historical data, as well as measurements of the ratio of the two. These data sweep over energies from 1 - 300 keV and external applied electric fields from 0 - 4060 V/cm. The model is constrained by constructing global cost functions and using a gradient descent minimizer, a simulated annealing algorithm, and a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach to optimize and find confidence intervals on all free parameters in the model. This analysis contrasts with previous work in that we do not unnecessarily exclude data sets nor impose artificially conservative assumptions, do not use spline functions, and reduce the number of parameters used in NEST v0.98. We report our results and the calculated best-fit charge and light yields. These quantities are crucial to understanding the response of liquid xenon detectors in the energy regime important for rare event searches such as the direct detection of dark matter particles.

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter experiment aims to detect rare low-energy interactions from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The radiogenic backgrounds in the LUX detector have been measured and compared with Monte Carlo simulation. Measurements of LUX high-energy data have provided direct constraints on all background sources contributing to the background model. The expected background rate from the background model for the 85.3 day WIMP search run is $(2.6\pm0.2_{\textrm{stat}}\pm0.4_{\textrm{sys}})\times10^{-3}$~events~keV$_{ee}^{-1}$~kg$^{-1}$~day$^{-1}$ in a 118~kg fiducial volume. The observed background rate is $(3.6\pm0.4_{\textrm{stat}})\times10^{-3}$~events~keV$_{ee}^{-1}$~kg$^{-1}$~day$^{-1}$, consistent with model projections. The expectation for the radiogenic background in a subsequent one-year run is presented.

This paper describes the operation of the Coherent CAPTAIN-Mills (CCM) detector located at the Lujan Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). CCM is a 10-ton liquid argon (LAr) detector located 20 meters from a high flux neutron/neutrino source and is designed to search for sterile neutrinos ($\nu_s$) and light dark matter (LDM). An engineering run was performed in Fall 2019 to study the characteristics of the CCM120 detector by searching for coherent scattering signals consistent with $\nu_s$'s and LDM resulting from $\pi^+$ and $\pi^0$ decays in the tungsten target. New parameter space in a leptophobic dark matter model was excluded for DM masses between $\sim2.0$ and 30 MeV. The lessons learned from this run have guided the development and construction of the new CCM200 detector that will begin operations in 2021 and significantly improve on these searches.

We present the results of the three-month above-ground commissioning run of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility located in Lead, South Dakota, USA. LUX is a 370 kg liquid xenon detector that will search for cold dark matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The commissioning run, conducted with the detector immersed in a water tank, validated the integration of the various sub-systems in preparation for the underground deployment. Using the data collected, we report excellent light collection properties, achieving 8.4 photoelectrons per keV for 662 keV electron recoils without an applied electric field, measured in the center of the WIMP target. We also find good energy and position resolution in relatively high-energy interactions from a variety of internal and external sources. Finally, we have used the commissioning data to tune the optical properties of our simulation and report updated sensitivity projections for spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering.

This work presents an analysis of monoenergetic electronic recoil peaks in the dark-matter-search and calibration data from the first underground science run of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) detector. Liquid xenon charge and light yields for electronic recoil energies between 5.2 and 661.7 keV are measured, as well as the energy resolution for the LUX detector at those same energies. Additionally, there is an interpretation of existing measurements and descriptions of electron-ion recombination fluctuations in liquid xenon as limiting cases of a more general liquid xenon re- combination fluctuation model. Measurements of the standard deviation of these fluctuations at monoenergetic electronic recoil peaks exhibit a linear dependence on the number of ions for energy deposits up to 661.7 keV, consistent with previous LUX measurements between 2-16 keV with $^3$H. We highlight similarities in liquid xenon recombination for electronic and nuclear recoils with a comparison of recombination fluctuations measured with low-energy calibration data.

Results are presented from radioactivity screening of two models of photomultiplier tubes designed for use in current and future liquid xenon experiments. The Hamamatsu 5.6 cm diameter R8778 PMT, used in the LUX dark matter experiment, has yielded a positive detection of four common radioactive isotopes: 238U, 232Th, 40K, and 60Co. Screening of LUX materials has rendered backgrounds from other detector materials subdominant to the R8778 contribution. A prototype Hamamatsu 7.6 cm diameter R11410 MOD PMT has also been screened, with benchmark isotope counts measured at <0.4 238U / <0.3 232Th / <8.3 40K / 2.0+-0.2 60Co mBq/PMT. This represents a large reduction, equal to a change of \times 1/24 238U / \times 1/9 232Th / \times 1/8 40K per PMT, between R8778 and R11410 MOD, concurrent with a doubling of the photocathode surface area (4.5 cm to 6.4 cm diameter). 60Co measurements are comparable between the PMTs, but can be significantly reduced in future R11410 MOD units through further material selection. Assuming PMT activity equal to the measured 90% upper limits, Monte Carlo estimates indicate that replacement of R8778 PMTs with R11410 MOD PMTs will change LUX PMT electron recoil background contributions by a factor of \times1/25 after further material selection for 60Co reduction, and nuclear recoil backgrounds by a factor of \times 1/36. The strong reduction in backgrounds below the measured R8778 levels makes the R11410 MOD a very competitive technology for use in large-scale liquid xenon detectors.

Various dark matter models predict annual and diurnal modulations of dark matter interaction rates in Earth-based experiments as a result of the Earth's motion in the halo.Observation of such features can provide generic evidence for detection of dark matter interactions.This paper reports a search for both annual and diurnal rate modulations in the LUX dark matter experiment using over 20 calendar months of data acquired between 2013 and 2016.This search focuses on electron recoil events at low energies, where leptophilic dark matter interactions are expected to occur and where the DAMA experiment has observed a strong rate modulation for over two decades.By using the innermost volume of the LUX detector and developing robust cuts and corrections, we obtained a stable event rate of 2.3 AE 0.2 cpd=keV ee =tonne, which is among the lowest in all dark matter experiments.No statistically significant annual modulation was observed in energy windows up to 26 keV ee .Between 2 and 6 keV ee , this analysis demonstrates the most sensitive annual modulation search up to date, with 9.2σ tension with the DAMA/LIBRA result.We also report no observation of diurnal modulations above 0.2 cpd=keV ee =tonne amplitude between 2 and 6 keV ee .

We report an absolute calibration of the ionization yields($\textit{Q$_y$})$ and fluctuations for electronic recoil events in liquid xenon at discrete energies between 186 eV and 33.2 keV. The average electric field applied across the liquid xenon target is 180 V/cm. The data are obtained using low energy $^{127}$Xe electron capture decay events from the 95.0-day first run from LUX (WS2013) in search of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The sequence of gamma-ray and X-ray cascades associated with $^{127}$I de-excitations produces clearly identified 2-vertex events in the LUX detector. We observe the K- (binding energy, 33.2 keV), L- (5.2 keV), M- (1.1 keV), and N- (186 eV) shell cascade events and verify that the relative ratio of observed events for each shell agrees with calculations. The N-shell cascade analysis includes single extracted electron (SE) events and represents the lowest-energy electronic recoil $\textit{in situ}$ measurements that have been explored in liquid xenon.

Geant4 has been used throughout the nuclear and high-energy physics community to simulate energy depositions in various detectors and materials. These simulations have mostly been run with a source beam outside the detector. In the case of low-background physics, however, a primary concern is the effect on the detector from radioactivity inherent in the detector parts themselves. From this standpoint, there is no single source or beam, but rather a collection of sources with potentially complicated spatial extent. LUXSim is a simulation framework used by the LUX collaboration that takes a component-centric approach to event generation and recording. A new set of classes allows for multiple radioactive sources to be set within any number of components at run time, with the entire collection of sources handled within a single simulation run. Various levels of information can also be recorded from the individual components, with these record levels also being set at run time. This flexibility in both source generation and information recording is possible without the need to recompile, reducing the complexity of code management and the proliferation of versions. Within the code itself, casting geometry objects within this new set of classes rather than as the default Geant4 classes automatically extends this flexibility to every individual component. No additional work is required on the part of the developer, reducing development time and increasing confidence in the results. We describe the guiding principles behind LUXSim, detail some of its unique classes and methods, and give examples of usage.

The LUX experiment has performed searches for dark matter particles scattering elastically on xenon nuclei, leading to stringent upper limits on the nuclear scattering cross sections for dark matter. Here, for results derived from ${1.4}\times 10^{4}\;\mathrm{kg\,days}$ of target exposure in 2013, details of the calibration, event-reconstruction, modeling, and statistical tests that underlie the results are presented. Detector performance is characterized, including measured efficiencies, stability of response, position resolution, and discrimination between electron- and nuclear-recoil populations. Models are developed for the drift field, optical properties, background populations, the electron- and nuclear-recoil responses, and the absolute rate of low-energy background events. Innovations in the analysis include in situ measurement of the photomultipliers' response to xenon scintillation photons, verification of fiducial mass with a low-energy internal calibration source, and new empirical models for low-energy signal yield based on large-sample, in situ calibrations.

LUX was the first dark matter experiment to use a $^{83\mathrm{m}}\mathrm{Kr}$ calibration source. In this paper, we describe the source preparation and injection. We also present several $^{83\mathrm{m}}\mathrm{Kr}$ calibration applications in the context of the 2013 LUX exposure, including the measurement of temporal and spatial variation in scintillation and charge signal amplitudes, and several methods to understand the electric field within the time projection chamber.

The $(x, y)$ position reconstruction method used in the analysis of the complete exposure of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment is presented. The algorithm is based on a statistical test that makes use of an iterative method to recover the photomultiplier tube (PMT) light response directly from the calibration data. The light response functions make use of a two dimensional functional form to account for the photons reflected on the inner walls of the detector. To increase the resolution for small pulses, a photon counting technique was employed to describe the response of the PMTs. The reconstruction was assessed with calibration data including ${}^{\mathrm{83m}}$Kr (releasing a total energy of 41.5 keV) and ${}^{3}$H ($\beta^-$ with Q = 18.6 keV) decays, and a deuterium-deuterium (D-D) neutron beam (2.45 MeV). In the horizontal plane, the reconstruction has achieved an $(x, y)$ position uncertainty of $\sigma$= 0.82 cm for events of only 200 electroluminescence photons and $\sigma$ = 0.17 cm for 4,000 electroluminescence photons. Such signals are associated with electron recoils of energies $\sim$0.25 keV and $\sim$10 keV, respectively. The reconstructed position of the smallest events with a single electron emitted from the liquid surface has a horizontal $(x, y)$ uncertainty of 2.13 cm.

Dual-phase xenon detectors are widely used in dark matter direct detection experiments, and have demonstrated the highest sensitivities to a variety of dark matter interactions. However, a key component of the dual-phase detector technology--the efficiency of charge extraction from liquid xenon into gas--has not been well characterized. In this paper, we report a new measurement of the electron extraction efficiency (EEE) in a small xenon detector using two mono-energetic decay features of $^{37}$Ar. By achieving stable operation at very high voltages, we measured the EEE values at the highest extraction electric field strength reported to date. For the first time, an apparent saturation of the EEE is observed over a large range of electric field; between 7.5 kV/cm and 10.4 kV/cm extraction field in the liquid xenon the EEE stays stable at the level of 1%(kV/cm)$^{-1}$. In the context of electron transport models developed for xenon, we discuss how the observed saturation may help calibrate this relative EEE measurement to the absolute EEE values. In addition, we present the implications of this result not only to current and future xenon-based dark matter searches, but also to xenon-based searches for coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scatters.

We report the first results of a search for leptophobic dark matter (DM) from the Coherent-CAPTAIN-Mills (CCM) liquid argon (LAr) detector. An engineering run with 120 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and 17.9×10^{20} protons on target (POT) was performed in fall 2019 to study the characteristics of the CCM detector. The operation of this 10-ton detector was strictly light based with a threshold of 50 keV and used coherent elastic scattering off argon nuclei to detect DM. Despite only 1.5 months of accumulated luminosity, contaminated LAr, and nonoptimized shielding, CCM's first engineering run has already achieved sensitivity to previously unexplored parameter space of light dark matter models with a baryonic vector portal. With an expected background of 115 005 events, we observe 115 005+16.5 events which is compatible with background expectations. For a benchmark mediator-to-DM mass ratio of m_{V_{B}}/m_{χ}=2.1, DM masses within the range 9 MeV≲m_{χ}≲50 MeV are excluded at 90% C. L. in the leptophobic model after applying the Feldman-Cousins test statistic. CCM's upgraded run with 200 PMTs, filtered LAr, improved shielding, and 10 times more POT will be able to exclude the remaining thermal relic density parameter space of this model, as well as probe new parameter space of other leptophobic DM models.

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment is a liquid xenon time projection chamber designed for extremely low levels of radioactive background in its fiducial volume. The overall liquid xenon mass is 300 kg, with a 100 kg fiducial mass. LUX is currently under construction, and integration of the full detector will begin in Fall 2009 at the Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory in South Dakota. The LUX sensitivity to the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent scattering cross-section will be 7 × 10-46 cm2 at 100 GeV after 300 days of low-background operation.

A comprehensive model for describing the characteristics of pulsed signals, generated by particle interactions in xenon detectors, is presented. An emphasis is laid on two-phase time projection chambers, but the models presented are also applicable to single phase detectors. In order to simulate the pulse shape due to primary scintillation light, the effects of the ratio of singlet and triplet dimer state populations, as well as their corresponding decay times, and the recombination time are incorporated into the model. In a two phase time projection chamber, when simulating the pulse caused by electroluminescence light, the ionization electron mean free path in gas, the drift velocity, singlet and triplet decay times, diffusion constants, and the electron trapping time, have been implemented. This modeling has been incorporated into a complete software package, which realistically simulates the expected pulse shapes for these types of detectors.

Theoretical and experimental techniques employed in dedicated searches for dark matter at hadron colliders are reviewed. Bounds from the 7 TeV and 8 TeV proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on dark matter interactions have been collected and the results interpreted. We review the current status of the Effective Field Theory picture of dark matter interactions with the Standard Model. Currently, LHC experiments have stronger bounds on operators leading to spin-dependent scattering than direct detection experiments, while direct detection probes are more constraining for spin-independent scattering for WIMP masses above a few GeV.

We present a novel analysis technique for liquid xenon time projection chambers that allows for a lower threshold by relying on events with a prompt scintillation signal consisting of single detected photons. The energy threshold of the LUX dark matter experiment is primarily determined by the smallest scintillation response detectable, which previously required a twofold coincidence signal in its photomultiplier arrays, enforced in data analysis. The technique presented here exploits the double photoelectron emission effect observed in some photomultiplier models at vacuum ultraviolet wavelengths. We demonstrate this analysis using an electron recoil calibration dataset and place new constraints on the spin-independent scattering cross section of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) down to $2.5\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}/{c}^{2}$ WIMP mass using the 2013 LUX dataset. This new technique is promising to enhance light WIMP and astrophysical neutrino searches in next-generation liquid xenon experiments.

LUX is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon time projection chamber designed to detect nuclear recoils from interactions with dark matter particles. Signals from the LUX detector are processed by custom-built analog electronics which provide properly shaped signals for the trigger and data acquisition (DAQ) systems. The DAQ is composed of commercial digitizers with firmware customized for the LUX experiment. Data acquisition systems in rare-event searches must accommodate high rate and large dynamic range during precision calibrations involving radioactive sources, while also delivering low threshold for maximum sensitivity. The LUX DAQ meets these challenges using real-time baseline suppression that allows for a maximum event acquisition rate in excess of 1.5 kHz with virtually no deadtime. This paper describes the LUX DAQ and the novel acquisition techniques employed in the LUX experiment.

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment operates at the Sanford Underground Research Facility to detect nuclear recoils from the hypothetical Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) on a liquid xenon target. Liquid xenon typically contains trace amounts of the noble radioactive isotopes $^{85}$Kr and $^{39}$Ar that are not removed by the in situ gas purification system. The decays of these isotopes at concentrations typical of research-grade xenon would be a dominant background for a WIMP search exmperiment. To remove these impurities from the liquid xenon, a chromatographic separation system based on adsorption on activated charcoal was built. 400 kg of xenon was processed, reducing the average concentration of krypton from 130 ppb to 3.5 ppt as measured by a cold-trap assisted mass spectroscopy system. A 50 kg batch spiked to 0.001 g/g of krypton was processed twice and reduced to an upper limit of 0.2 ppt.

This work details the development of a three-dimensional (3D) electric field model for the LUX detector. The detector took data during two periods of searching for weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) searches. After the first period completed, a time-varying non-uniform negative charge developed in the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) panels that define the radial boundary of the detector's active volume. This caused electric field variations in the detector in time, depth and azimuth, generating an electrostatic radially-inward force on electrons on their way upward to the liquid surface. To map this behavior, 3D electric field maps of the detector's active volume were built on a monthly basis. This was done by fitting a model built in COMSOL Multiphysics to the uniformly distributed calibration data that were collected on a regular basis. The modeled average PTFE charge density increased over the course of the exposure from -3.6 to $-5.5~\mu$C/m$^2$. From our studies, we deduce that the electric field magnitude varied while the mean value of the field of $\sim200$~V/cm remained constant throughout the exposure. As a result of this work the varying electric fields and their impact on event reconstruction and discrimination were successfully modeled.

Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) are a leading candidate for dark matter and are expected to produce nuclear recoil (NR) events within liquid xenon time-projection chambers. We present a measurement of the scintillation timing characteristics of liquid xenon in the LUX dark matter detector and develop a pulse shape discriminant to be used for particle identification. To accurately measure the timing characteristics, we develop a template-fitting method to reconstruct the detection times of photons. Analyzing calibration data collected during the 2013-16 LUX WIMP search, we provide a new measurement of the singlet-to-triplet scintillation ratio for electron recoils (ER) below 46~keV, and we make a first-ever measurement of the NR singlet-to-triplet ratio at recoil energies below 74~keV. We exploit the difference of the photon time spectra for NR and ER events by using a prompt fraction discrimination parameter, which is optimized using calibration data to have the least number of ER events that occur in a 50\% NR acceptance region. We then demonstrate how this discriminant can be used in conjunction with the charge-to-light discrimination to possibly improve the signal-to-noise ratio for nuclear recoils.

Dual-phase xenon detectors lead the search for keV-scale nuclear recoil signals expected from the scattering of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter, and can potentially be used to study the coherent nuclear scattering of MeV-scale neutrinos. New capabilities of such experiments can be enabled by extending their nuclear recoil searches down to the lowest measurable energy. The response of the liquid xenon target medium to nuclear recoils, however, is not well characterized below a few keV, leading to large uncertainties in projected sensitivities. In this work, we report a new measurement of ionization signals from nuclear recoils in liquid xenon down to the lowest energy reported to date. At 0.3 keV, we find that the average recoil produces approximately one ionization electron; this is the first measurement of nuclear recoil signals at the single-ionization-electron level, approaching the physical limit of liquid xenon ionization detectors. We discuss the implications of these measurements on the physics reach of xenon detectors for nuclear-recoil-based WIMP dark matter searches and the detection of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering.

Secondary metabolites (SMs) are formed during secondary metabolism in fungi and other organisms and provide a wide variety of applications in various fields. Despite much research done on the veracious utilization of SMs, their precise applications are still not clear. The idea of extracting and harvesting biologically active compounds from fungi has become quite fascinating among biotechnologists. These biological compounds are used in fields like agriculture, health, medication, and industries. SMs are categorized as polyketides, terpenoids, nonribosomal peptides, nuclear-encoded ribosomal peptides, and molecules of mixed biogenic origin arising from hybrid pathways. Plant-fungi secondary metabolites are also quite common and have been exploited for the commercial production of various compounds. In the pathogenic relationship of plant and fungi, the plant acts as a host and is related to the production of fungal secondary metabolites. This chapter gives an overview of different fungal secondary metabolites and their application in different sectors, along with plant-fungi secondary metabolite interaction. A brief description of the antifungal activity of plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) and the role of phytopathogen and endophytes in secondary metabolite production have also been discussed. The light is also shed on the mechanism of the action of secondary metabolites and genomics involved in regulating different secondary metabolites.

We show results from the Coherent CAPTAIN Mills (CCM) 2019 engineering run which begin to constrain regions of parameter space for axion-like particles (ALPs) produced in electromagnetic particle showers in an 800 MeV proton beam dump, and further investigate the sensitivity of ongoing data-taking campaigns for the CCM200 upgraded detector. Based on beam-on background estimates from the engineering run, we make realistic extrapolations for background reduction based on expected shielding improvements, reduced beam width, and analysis-based techniques for background rejection. We obtain reach projections for two classes of signatures; ALPs coupled primarily to photons can be produced in the tungsten target via the Primakoff process, and then produce a gamma-ray signal in the Liquid Argon (LAr) CCM detector either via inverse Primakoff scattering or decay to a photon pair. ALPs with significant electron couplings have several additional production mechanisms (Compton scattering, $e^+e^-$ annihilation, ALP-bremsstrahlung) and detection modes (inverse Compton scattering, external $e^+e^-$ pair conversion, and decay to $e^+e^-$). In some regions, the constraint is marginally better than both astrophysical and terrestrial constraints. With the beginning of a three year run, CCM will be more sensitive to this parameter space by up to an order of magnitude for both ALP-photon and ALP-electron couplings. The CCM experiment will also have sensitivity to well-motivated parameter space of QCD axion models. It is only a recent realization that accelerator-based large volume liquid argon detectors designed for low energy coherent neutrino and dark matter scattering searches are also ideal for probing ALPs in the unexplored $\sim$MeV mass scale.

Chapter 15 15The Impact of Distributed Computing on Online Shopping and Consumer Experience K. Suresh Kumar, K. Suresh Kumar 1 MBA Department, Panimalar Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorLuigi P.L. Cavaliere, Luigi P.L. Cavaliere 2 Department of Economics, University of Foggia, Foggia, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorMano A. Tripathi, Mano A. Tripathi 3 Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Allahabad, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorT.S. Rajeswari, T.S. Rajeswari 4 Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Department of English, Vaddeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorS.S.C. Mary, S.S.C. Mary 5 Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Business Analytics, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorG.H.A. Vethamanikam, G.H.A. Vethamanikam 6 Department of Business Administration, Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorNadanakumar Vinayagam, Nadanakumar Vinayagam 7 Department of Automobile Engineering, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai, Tamil Nadu IndiaSearch for more papers by this author K. Suresh Kumar, K. Suresh Kumar 1 MBA Department, Panimalar Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorLuigi P.L. Cavaliere, Luigi P.L. Cavaliere 2 Department of Economics, University of Foggia, Foggia, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorMano A. Tripathi, Mano A. Tripathi 3 Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Allahabad, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorT.S. Rajeswari, T.S. Rajeswari 4 Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Department of English, Vaddeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorS.S.C. Mary, S.S.C. Mary 5 Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Business Analytics, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorG.H.A. Vethamanikam, G.H.A. Vethamanikam 6 Department of Business Administration, Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorNadanakumar Vinayagam, Nadanakumar Vinayagam 7 Department of Automobile Engineering, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai, Tamil Nadu IndiaSearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):Rohit Anand, Rohit Anand G.B.Pant Engineering College, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorAbhinav Juneja, Abhinav Juneja KIET Group of Institutions, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorDigvijay Pandey, Digvijay Pandey Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorSapna Juneja, Sapna Juneja KIET Group of Institutions, IndiaSearch for more papers by this authorNidhi Sindhwani, Nidhi Sindhwani Amity University, IndiaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 08 March 2024 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394188093.ch15 AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Summary This chapter examines the impact of distributed computing on online shopping and consumer experience. Distributed computing has transformed the way online shopping platforms operate by allowing them to process and store large amounts of data, improve website speed and availability, and enhance security measures. As a result, consumers have come to expect seamless and personalized online shopping experiences that meet their needs and preferences. The chapter first provides an overview of distributed computing technology and how it is used in online shopping platforms. It then discusses the impact of distributed computing on various aspects of the consumer experience, including website speed, personalization, and security. The chapter also examines the potential drawbacks of relying heavily on distributed computing, such as increased costs and dependency on technology. One significant finding is that distributed computing has changed consumer expectations for online shopping by providing faster and more personalized experiences. Consumers now expect websites to load quickly, provide relevant recommendations, and keep their personal information secure. Retailers that cannot meet these expectations risk losing customers to competitors who offer a more seamless online shopping experience. A significant impact on online shopping and consumer experience. While there are potential drawbacks to relying heavily on this technology, the benefits it provides to both retailers and consumers cannot be ignored. As technology continues to evolve, it is likely that distributed computing will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of online shopping. References Otterbring , T. and Lu , C. ( 2018 ). Clothes, condoms, and customer satisfaction: the effect of employee mere presence on customer satisfaction depends on the shopping situation . Psychol. Mark. 35 : 454 – 462 . 10.1002/mar.21098 Web of Science®Google Scholar Holmlund , M. , Van Vaerenbergh , Y. , Ciuchita , R. et al. ( 2020 ). 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The Migdal effect predicts that a nuclear recoil interaction can be accompanied by atomic ionization, allowing many dark matter direct detection experiments to gain sensitivity to sub-GeV masses. We report the first direct search for the Migdal effect for M- and L-shell electrons in liquid xenon using nuclear recoils produced by tagged neutron scatters. Despite an observed background rate lower than that of expected signals in the region of interest, we do not observe a signal consistent with predictions. We discuss possible explanations, including inaccurate predictions for either the Migdal rate or the signal response in liquid xenon. We comment on the implications for direct dark matter searches and future Migdal characterization efforts.

There has been considerable interest and resulting progress in implementing machine learning (ML) models in hardware over the last several years from the particle and nuclear physics communities. A big driver has been the release of the Python package, hls4ml, which has enabled porting models specified and trained using Python ML libraries to register transfer level (RTL) code. So far, the primary end targets have been commercial FPGAs or synthesized custom blocks on ASICs. However, recent developments in open-source embedded FPGA (eFPGA) frameworks now provide an alternate, more flexible pathway for implementing ML models in hardware. These customized eFPGA fabrics can be integrated as part of an overall chip design. In general, the decision between a fully custom, eFPGA, or commercial FPGA ML implementation will depend on the details of the end-use application. In this work, we explored the parameter space for eFPGA implementations of fully-connected neural network (fcNN) and boosted decision tree (BDT) models using the task of neutron/gamma classification with a specific focus on resource efficiency. We used data collected using an AmBe sealed source incident on Stilbene, which was optically coupled to an OnSemi J-series SiPM to generate training and test data for this study. We investigated relevant input features and the effects of bit-resolution and sampling rate as well as trade-offs in hyperparameters for both ML architectures while tracking total resource usage. The performance metric used to track model performance was the calculated neutron efficiency at a gamma leakage of 10$^{-3}$. The results of the study will be used to aid the specification of an eFPGA fabric, which will be integrated as part of a test chip.

Giant planets exhibit diverse orbital properties, hinting at their distinct formation and dynamic histories. In this paper, using $\textit{Gaia}$ DR3, we investigate if and how the orbital properties of Jupiters are linked to their host star properties, particularly their metallicity and age. We obtain metallicities for main sequence stars of spectral type F, G, and K, hosting hot, warm, and cold Jupiters with varying eccentricities. We compute the velocity dispersion of host stars of these three groups using kinematic information from $\textit{Gaia}$ DR3 and obtain average ages using velocity dispersion-age relation. We find that host stars of hot Jupiters are relatively metal-rich ([Fe/H]=$0.18 \pm 0.13$) and young ( median age $3.97 \pm 0.51$ Gyr) compared to the host stars of cold Jupiters in nearly circular orbits, which are relatively metal-poor ($0.03 \pm 0.18$) and older (median age $6.07 \pm 0.79$ Gyr). Host stars of cold Jupiters in high eccentric orbits, on the other hand, show metallicities similar to that of the hosts of hot Jupiters, but are older, on average (median age $6.25 \pm 0.92$ Gyr). The similarity in metallicity between hosts of hot Jupiters and hosts of cold Jupiters in high eccentric orbits supports high eccentricity migration as the potential origin of hot Jupiters, with the latter serving as the progenitors. However, the average age difference between them suggests that the older hot Jupiters may have been engulfed by the star in a timescale of $\sim 6$ Gyr. This allows us to estimate the value of stellar tidal quality factor $Q'_\ast\sim10^{6\pm1}$.

We present the results of a direct detection search for mirror dark matter interactions, using data collected from the Large Underground Xenon experiment during 2013, with an exposure of $95\text{ }\mathrm{live}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{days}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}118\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{kg}$. Here, the calculations of the mirror electron scattering rate in liquid xenon take into account the shielding effects from mirror dark matter captured within the Earth. Annual and diurnal modulation of the dark matter flux and atomic shell effects in xenon are also accounted for. Having found no evidence for an electron recoil signal induced by mirror dark matter interactions we place an upper limit on the kinetic mixing parameter over a range of local mirror electron temperatures between 0.1 and 0.9 keV. This limit shows significant improvement over the previous experimental constraint from orthopositronium decays and significantly reduces the allowed parameter space for the model. We exclude mirror electron temperatures above 0.3 keV at a 90% confidence level, for this model, and constrain the kinetic mixing below this temperature.

LUX is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon time projection chamber designed to detect nuclear recoils resulting from interactions with dark matter particles. Signals from the detector are processed with an FPGA-based digital trigger system that analyzes the incoming data in real-time, with just a few microsecond latency. The system enables first pass selection of events of interest based on their pulse shape characteristics and 3D localization of the interactions. It has been shown to be >99% efficient in triggering on S2 signals induced by only few extracted liquid electrons. It is continuously and reliably operating since its full underground deployment in early 2013. This document is an overview of the systems capabilities, its inner workings, and its performance.

The Silicon Detector proposed for the International Linear Collider (ILC) requires electronic read-out that can be tightly coupled to the silicon detectors envisioned for the tracker and the electromagnetic calorimeter. The KPiX is a 1024-channel read-out chip that bump-bonds to the detector and communicates through a few digital signals, power, and detector bias. The KPiX front-end is a low-noise dual-range charge-amplifier with a dynamic range of 17 bit, achieved by autonomous switching of the feedback capacitor. The device takes advantage of the ILC duty cycle of 1 ms trains at 5 Hz rate by lowering the supply current after the data acquisition cycle for an average power consumption of ≪20 μW/channel. During the 1 ms train, up to four events exceeding a programmable threshold can be stored, the amplitude as a voltage on a capacitor for subsequent digitization, the event time in digital format. The chip can be configured for other than ILC applications.

Fission events from Special Nuclear Material (SNM), such as highly enriched uranium or plutonium, can produce simultaneous emission of multiple neutrons and high-energy gamma-rays. The observation of time correlations between any of these particles is a significant indicator of the presence of fissionable material. Cosmogenic processes can also mimic these types of correlated signals. However, if the background is sufficiently low and fully characterized, significant changes in the correlated event rate in the presence of a target of interest constitutes a robust signature of the presence of SNM. Since fission emissions are isotropic, adequate sensitivity to these multiplicities requires a high efficiency detector with a large solid angle with respect to the target. Water Cherenkov detectors are a cost-effective choice when large solid angle coverage is required. In order to characterize the neutron detection performance of large-scale water Cherenkov detectors, we have designed and built a 3.5 kL water Cherenkov-based gamma-ray and neutron detector, and modeled the detector response in Geant4 [1]. We report the position-dependent neutron detection efficiency and energy response of the detector, as well as the basic characteristics of the simulation.

The LZ program consists of two stages of direct dark matter searches using liquid Xe detectors. The first stage will be a 1.5-3 tonne detector, while the last stage will be a 20 tonne detector. Both devices will benefit tremendously from research and development performed for the LUX experiment, a 350 kg liquid Xe dark matter detector currently operating at the Sanford Underground Laboratory. In particular, the technology used for cryogenics and electrical feedthroughs, circulation and purification, low-background materials and shielding techniques, electronics, calibrations, and automated control and recovery systems are all directly scalable from LUX to the LZ detectors. Extensive searches for potential background sources have been performed, with an emphasis on previously undiscovered background sources that may have a significant impact on tonne-scale detectors. The LZ detectors will probe spin-independent interaction cross sections as low as 5E-49 cm2 for 100 GeV WIMPs, which represents the ultimate limit for dark matter detection with liquid xenon technology.

KPiX is a 1,024 channel “System on a Chip” intended for bump bonding to large area Si sensors, enabling low multiple scattering Si strip tracking and high density Particle Flow calorimetry for SiD at the International Linear Collider (ILC). It may be used for hadronic calorimetry readout with RPC's or GEM's, and with a scintillator-based muon system using SiPM's. An electromagnetic calorimeter prototype will be beam-tested in early 2013.

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment is a dual-phase liquid xenon time projection chamber (TPC) operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. A calibration of nuclear recoils in liquid xenon was performed $\textit{in situ}$ in the LUX detector using a collimated beam of mono-energetic 2.45 MeV neutrons produced by a deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion source. The nuclear recoil energy from the first neutron scatter in the TPC was reconstructed using the measured scattering angle defined by double-scatter neutron events within the active xenon volume. We measured the absolute charge ($Q_{y}$) and light ($L_{y}$) yields at an average electric field of 180 V/cm for nuclear recoil energies spanning 0.7 to 74 keV and 1.1 to 74 keV, respectively. This calibration of the nuclear recoil signal yields will permit the further refinement of liquid xenon nuclear recoil signal models and, importantly for dark matter searches, clearly demonstrates measured ionization and scintillation signals in this medium at recoil energies down to $\mathcal{O}$(1 keV).

We report results from an extensive set of measurements of the \b{eta}-decay response in liquid xenon.These measurements are derived from high-statistics calibration data from injected sources of both $^{3}$H and $^{14}$C in the LUX detector. The mean light-to-charge ratio is reported for 13 electric field values ranging from 43 to 491 V/cm, and for energies ranging from 1.5 to 145 keV.

We present constraints on WIMP-nucleus scattering from the 2013 data of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter experiment, including $1.4\times10^{4}\,\mathrm{kg\cdot days}$ of search exposure. This new analysis incorporates several advances: single-photon calibration at the scintillation wavelength; improved event-reconstruction algorithms; a revised background model including events originating on the detector walls in an enlarged fiducial volume; and new calibrations from decays of an injected tritium $\beta$ source and from kinematically constrained nuclear recoils down to 1.1 keV. Sensitivity, especially to low-mass WIMPs, is enhanced compared to our previous results which modeled the signal only above a 3 keV minimum energy. Under standard dark matter halo assumptions and in the mass range above 4 $\mathrm{GeV}\,c^{-2}$, these new results give the most stringent direct limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section. The 90% CL upper limit has a minimum of 0.6 zb at 33 $\mathrm{GeV}\,c^{-2}$ WIMP mass.

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter search experiment is currently being deployed at the Homestake Laboratory in South Dakota. We will highlight the main elements of design which make the experiment a very strong competitor in the field of direct detection, as well as an easily scalable concept. We will also present its potential reach for supersymmetric dark matter detection, within various timeframes ranging from 1 year to 5 years or more.

The LUX detector is currently in operation at the Davis Campus at the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD to directly search for WIMP dark matter. Knowing the type and rate of backgrounds is critical in a rare, low energy event search, and LUX was designed, constructed, and deployed to mitigate backgrounds, both internal and external. An important internal background are decays of radon and its daughters. These consist of alpha decays, which are easily tagged and are a tracer of certain backgrounds, and beta decays, some of which are not as readily tagged and present a background for the WIMP search. We report on studies of alpha decay and discuss implications for the WIMP search.

We report here methods and techniques for creating and improving a model that reproduces the scintillation and ionization response of a dual-phase liquid and gaseous xenon time-projection chamber. Starting with the recent release of the Noble Element Simulation Technique (NEST v2.0), electronic recoil data from the $\beta$ decays of ${}^3$H and ${}^{14}$C in the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) detector were used to tune the model, in addition to external data sets that allow for extrapolation beyond the LUX data-taking conditions. This paper also presents techniques used for modeling complicated temporal and spatial detector pathologies that can adversely affect data using a simplified model framework. The methods outlined in this report show an example of the robust applications possible with NEST v2.0, while also providing the final electronic recoil model and detector parameters that will used in the new analysis package, the LUX Legacy Analysis Monte Carlo Application (LLAMA), for accurate reproduction of the LUX data. As accurate background reproduction is crucial for the success of rare-event searches, such as dark matter direct detection experiments, the techniques outlined here can be used in other single-phase and dual-phase xenon detectors to assist with accurate ER background reproduction.

Abstract: The application of clustering algorithms in tourism data analysis has become an important research area in recent years. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of the different clustering algorithms used in tourism data analysis and their applications. Clustering algorithms are used to group data into clusters based on similarities and differences between the data points. In tourism, clustering algorithms are used to identify different segments of tourists based on their preferences, behaviors, and characteristics. These segments can be used to target specific marketing strategies and improve tourism experiences. The study presents a comprehensive review of the different clustering algorithms, including hierarchical clustering, k-means clustering, density-based clustering, and model-based clustering. The advantages and disadvantages of each algorithm are discussed in detail. In addition, the study highlights the different applications of clustering algorithms in tourism data analysis, such as destination profiling, market segmentation, customer behavior analysis, and recommendation systems. Overall, the study shows that clustering algorithms have a significant impact on tourism data analysis and decision-making processes. They provide valuable insights into the behavior and preferences of tourists, which can be used to improve tourism products and services. However, the selection of the appropriate clustering algorithm depends on the nature of the data and the research objectives.

The Migdal effect predicts that a nuclear recoil interaction can be accompanied by atomic ionization, allowing many dark matter direct detection experiments to gain sensitivity to sub-GeV masses. We report the first direct search for the Migdal effect for M- and L-shell electrons in liquid xenon using 7.0$\pm$1.6 keV nuclear recoils produced by tagged neutron scatters. Despite an observed background rate lower than that of expected signals in the region of interest, we do not observe a signal consistent with predictions. We discuss possible explanations, including inaccurate predictions for either the Migdal rate or the signal response in liquid xenon. We comment on the implications for direct dark-matter searches and future Migdal characterization efforts.

LUX, the world's largest dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber, with a fiducial target mass of 118 kg and 10,091 kg-days of exposure thus far, is currently the most sensitive direct dark matter search experiment. The initial null-result limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering cross-section was released in October 2013, with a primary scintillation threshold of 2 phe, roughly 3 keVnr for LUX. The detector has been deployed at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, and is the first experiment to achieve a limit on the WIMP cross-section lower than $10^{-45}$ cm$^{2}$. Here we present a more in-depth discussion of the novel energy scale employed to better understand the nuclear recoil light and charge yields, and of the calibration sources, including the new internal tritium source. We found the LUX data to be in conflict with low-mass WIMP signal interpretations of other results.

The LUX (Large Underground Xenon) experiment aims at the direct detection of dark matter particles via their collisions with xenon nuclei. The 370 kg two-phase liquid xenon time projection chamber measures simultaneously the scintillation and ionization from interactions in the target. The ratio of these two signals provides very good discrimination between potential nuclear recoil and electronic recoil signals to search for WIMP-nucleon scattering. The LUX detector operates at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota, USA) since February 2013. First results were presented in late 2013 setting the world׳s most stringent limits on WIMP-nucleon scattering cross-sections over a wide range of WIMP masses. A 300 day run beginning in 2014 will further improve the sensitivity and new calibration techniques will reduce systematics for the WIMP signal search.

Tetraphenyl-butadiene (TPB) is a wavelength shifting material that can absorb ultraviolet photons and emit blue photons. It is used in the detection of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photons, for which typical photo-sensors, such as most photomultiplier tubes (PMT) and silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), do not have any quantum efficiency. The secondary blue light is emitted isotropically, however, due to scattering within the material, its angular distribution upon exiting the material can not be easily predicted. Here we describe a procedure for estimating the scattering length of blue light in TPB, by measuring and modeling the angular distribution as a function of layer thickness. The experiment consists of shining 254nm light at various thicknesses of TPB deposited on fused silica, and measuring the intensity of blue light using SiPMs on either side of the sample. We simulate light propagation within the sample to estimate the light yield and compare that to the data, which allows us to estimate mean scattering length for photons in TPB to be in the range 2–3 μm, with some preference for a central value of 2.75 μm.

The LUX (large underground xenon) detector is a two-phase xenon time projection chamber (TPC) designed to search for WIMP–nucleon dark matter interactions. As with all noble element detectors, continuous purification of the detector medium is essential to produce a large (>1ms) electron lifetime; this is necessary for efficient measurement of the electron signal which in turn is essential for achieving robust discrimination of signal from background events. In this paper, we describe the development of a novel purification system deployed in a prototype detector. The results from the operation of this prototype indicated heat exchange with an efficiency above 94% up to a flow rate of 42 slpm, allowing for an electron drift length greater than 1 m to be achieved in approximately 2 days and sustained for the duration of the testing period.

We present an update of the development of an electromagnetic calorimeter for the Silicon Detector concept for a future linear electron-positron collider. Mechanical progress for a full barrel calorimeter that provides a more complete basis for simulation is discussed. Crosstalk problems in the first version of the sensor were found in a first testbeam study, and a second version of the sensor is now beginning testing.

We report on the screening of samples of titanium metal for their radio-purity. The screening process described in this work led to the selection of materials used in the construction of the cryostats for the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter experiment. Our measurements establish titanium as a highly desirable material for low background experiments searching for rare events. The sample with the lowest total long-lived activity was measured to contain <0.25 mBq/kg of U-238, <0.2 mBq/kg of Th-232, and <1.2 mBq/kg of K-40. Measurements of several samples also indicated the presence of short-lived (84 day half life) Sc-46, likely produced cosmogenically via muon initiated (n,p) reactions.

Two CMS production Cathode Strip Chambers were tested for aging effects in a high-radiation environment at the Gamma Irradiation Facility at CERN. The chambers were irradiated over a large area: in total, about 2.1 m2 or 700 m of wire in each chamber. The 40% Ar+50% CO2+10% CF4 gas mixture was provided by an open-loop gas system for one of the chambers and by a closed-loop re-circulating gas system for the other. After an accumulation of 0.3–0.4 C/cm of a wire, equivalent to about 30–50 years of operation at peak LHC luminosity, no significant changes in gas gain, chamber efficiency and wire signal noise were observed for either of the two chambers. The only consistent signs of aging were a small increase in dark current from ∼2 to ∼10 nA per plane of 600 wires and a decrease of strip-to-strip resistance from 1000 to 10–100 GΩ. Disassembly of the chambers revealed deposits on the cathode planes, while the anode wires remained fairly clean.

LUX (Large Underground Xenon) is a dark matter direct detection experiment deployed at the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD, operating a 370 kg dual-phase xenon TPC. Results of the first WIMP search run were presented in late 2013, for the analysis of 85.3 live-days with a fiducial volume of 118 kg, taken during the period of April to August 2013. The experiment exhibited a sensitivity to spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering with a minimum upper limit on the cross section of 7.6×10−46cm2 at a WIMP mass of 33 GeV/c2, becoming the world's leading WIMP search result, in conflict with several previous claimed hints of discovery.

After a brief overview of the CMS EMU electronics system, results on radiation induced single event effects, total ionization dose and displacement effects will be reported. These results are obtained by irradiating the components on electronics boards with 63MeV protons and 1MeV neutrons. During the proton irradiation, the electronics board was fully under power, all components on the board were active and the data were read out in the same way as designed for CMS. No deterioration of analog performance for each of the three CMOS ASICs on the tested board was observed, up to a dose of 10krad. Each of the tested FPGAs survived beyond the dose of 30krad. No single event latch-up was detected for the CMOS ASICs up to a proton fluence of 2×1012cm−2. Single Event Upsets (SEU) in FPGAs were detected and their cross-sections measured. SEU mitigation with triple module redundancy and voting was implemented and tested.

Cherenkov detectors employ various methods to maximize light collection at the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs).These generally involve the use of highly reflective materials lining the interior of the detector, reflective materials around the PMTs, or wavelength-shifting sheets around the PMTs.Recently, the use of water-soluble wavelength-shifters has been explored to increase the measurable light yield of Cherenkov radiation in water.These wave-shifting chemicals are capable of absorbing light in the ultravoilet and re-emitting the light in a range detectable by PMTs.Using a 250 L water Cherenkov detector, we have characterized the increase in light yield from three compounds in water: 4-Methylumbelliferone, Carbostyril-124, and Amino-G Salt.We report the gain in PMT response at a concentration of 1 ppm as: 1.88 ± 0.02 for 4-Methylumbelliferone, stable to within 0.5% over 50 days, 1.37 ± 0.03 for Carbostyril-124, and 1.20 ± 0.02 for Amino-G Salt.The response of 4-Methylumbelliferone was modeled, resulting in a simulated gain within 9% of the experimental gain at 1 ppm concentration.Finally, we report an increase in neutron detection performance of a large-scale (3.5 kL) gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector at a 4-Methylumbelliferone concentration of 1 ppm.

Future collider detectors, including silicon tracking detectors planned for the High Luminosity LHC, will require components and mechanical structures providing unprecedented strength-to-mass ratios, thermal conductivity, and radiation tolerance. This paper studies carbon foam used in conjunction with thermally conductive epoxy and thermally conductive tape for such applications. Thermal performance and tensile strength measurements of aluminum-carbon foam-adhesive stacks are reported, along with initial radiation damage test results.

As silicon detectors in high energy physics experiments require increasingly complex assembly procedures, the availability of a wide variety of interconnect technologies provides more options for overcoming obstacles in generic R&D. Gold ball bonding has been a staple in the interconnect industry due to its ease of use and reliability. However, due to some limitations in the standard technique, alternate methods of gold-stud bonding are being developed. This paper presents recent progress and challenges faced in the development of double gold-stud bonding and 0.5 mil wire gold-stud bonding at the UC Davis Facility for Interconnect Technology. Advantages and limitations of each technique are analyzed to provide insight into potential applications for each method. Optimization of procedures and parameters is also presented.

We present the first experimental constraints on the spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon elastic cross sections from LUX data acquired in 2013. LUX is a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota), which is designed to observe the recoil signature of galactic WIMPs scattering from xenon nuclei. A profile likelihood ratio analysis of $1.4~\times~10^{4}~\text{kg}\cdot~\text{days}$ of fiducial exposure allows 90% CL upper limits to be set on the WIMP-neutron (WIMP-proton) cross section of $\sigma_n~=~9.4~\times~10^{-41}~\text{cm}^2$ ($\sigma_p~=~2.9~\times~10^{-39}~\text{cm}^2$) at 33 GeV/c$^2$. The spin-dependent WIMP-neutron limit is the most sensitive constraint to date.

Liquid xenon-based direct detection dark matter experiments have recently expanded their searches to include high-energy nuclear recoil events as motivated by effective field theory dark matter and inelastic dark matter interaction models, but few xenon recoil calibrations above 100 keV are currently available. In this work, we measured the scintillation and ionization yields of xenon recoils up to 426 keV. The experiment uses 14.1 MeV neutrons to scatter off xenon in a compact liquid xenon time projection chamber and produce quasi-monoenergetic xenon recoils between 39 keV and 426 keV. We report the xenon recoil responses and their electric field-dependence for recoil energies up to 306 keV; due to the low event statistics and the relatively mild field dependence, the yield values at higher energies are reported as the average of xenon responses for electric fields between 0.2-2.0 kV/cm. This result will enable xenon-based dark matter experiments to significantly increase their high energy dark matter sensitivities by including energy regions that were previously inaccessible due to lack of calibrations.

We report the effciency of a thermosyphon-based cooling system for a liquid xenon (LXe) time projection chamber (TPC), as well as the effciency of a unique internal heat exchanger with standard gas phase purification using a heated getter, which allows for very high flow purification without requiring large cooling power.

In this research paper, we will focused on the bit error rate (BER) performance of Orthogonal-frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) of various modulation techniques. The Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is the popular modulation techniquefor the many wireless communication systems.In the wireless system, the signal transmitted into channel bounces off from the various surfaces resulting in the multiple delayed versions of the transmitted signal arriving to the receiver.The OFDM has trusted to be very effective in mitigating adverse multi-path effects of a broadband channel.The multiple signals are obtained due to the diffraction and reflection of electromagnetic waves around objects .The bit error rate (BER) performance of this type of systems are evaluated in the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel.The BER performance of the transmission modes are calculated by calculating the bit error rate (BER) versus signal to the noise ratio (SNR) under the Additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), channel.

The replacement of the existing endcap calorimeter in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector for the high-luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), scheduled for 2027, will be a high granularity calorimeter. It will provide detailed position, energy, and timing information on electromagnetic and hadronic showers in the immense pileup of the HL-LHC. The High Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL) will use 120-, 200-, and 300-μm-thick silicon (Si) pad sensors as the main active material and will sustain 1 MeV neutron equivalent fluences up to about 1016 neq cm−2. In order to address the performance degradation of the Si detectors caused by the intense radiation environment, irradiation campaigns of test diode samples from 8-inch and 6-inch wafers were performed in two reactors. Characterization of the electrical and charge collection properties after irradiation involved both bulk polarities for the three sensor thicknesses. Since the Si sensors will be operated at −30oC to reduce increasing bulk leakage current with fluence, the charge collection investigation of 30 irradiated samples was carried out with the infrared-TCT setup at −30oC. TCAD simulation results at the lower fluences are in close agreement with the experimental results and provide predictions of sensor performance for the lower fluence regions not covered by the experimental study. All investigated sensors display 60% or higher charge collection efficiency at their respective highest lifetime fluences when operated at 800 V, and display above 90% at the lowest fluence, at 600 V. The collected charge close to the fluence of 1016 neq cm−2 exceeds 1 fC at voltages beyond 800 V.

Cryogenic liquids, particularly liquid xenon and argon, are of interest as detector media for experiments in nuclear and particle physics. Here we present a new detector diagnostic technique using piezoelectric sensors to detect bubbling of the liquid. Bubbling can indicate locations of excess heat dissipation e.g., in immersed electronics. They can also interfere with normal event evolution by scattering of light or by interrupting the drift of ionization charge. In our test apparatus, four sensors are placed in the vacuum space of a double-walled dewar of liquid nitrogen and used to detect and locate a source of bubbling inside the liquid volume. Utilizing the differences in transmitted frequencies through the different media present in the experiment, we find that sound traveling in a direct path from the source to the sensor can be isolated with appropriate filtering. The location of the source is then reconstructed using the time difference of arrivals (TDOA) information. The reconstruction algorithm is shown to have a 95.8% convergence rate and reconstructed positions are self-consistent to an average +/-0.5cm around the mean in x, y, and z. Systematic effects are observed to cause errors in reconstruction when bubbles occur very close to the surfaces of the liquid volume.

In the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, muon detection in the forward direction is accomplished by cathode strip chambers (CSC). These detectors identify muons, provide a fast muon trigger, and give a precise measurement of the muon trajectory. There are 468 six-plane CSCs in the system. The efficiency of finding muon trigger primitives (muon track segments) was studied using 36 CMS CSCs and cosmic ray muons during the Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge (MTCC) exercise conducted by the CMS experiment in 2006. In contrast to earlier studies that used muon beams to illuminate a very small chamber area (<0.01m2), results presented in this paper were obtained by many installed CSCs operating in situ over an area of ≈23m2 as a part of the CMS experiment. The efficiency of finding two-dimensional trigger primitives within six-layer chambers was found to be 99.93±0.03%. These segments, found by the CSC electronics within 800 ns after the passing of a muon through the chambers, are the input information for the Level-1 muon trigger and, also, are a necessary condition for chambers to be read out by the Data Acquisition System.

Surface damage caused by ionizing radiation in SiO$_2$ passivated silicon particle detectors consists mainly of the accumulation of a positively charged layer along with trapped-oxide-charge and interface traps inside the oxide and close to the Si/SiO$_2$-interface. High density positive interface net charge can be detrimental to the operation of a multi-channel $n$-on-$p$ sensor since the inversion layer generated under the Si/SiO$_2$-interface can cause loss of position resolution by creating a conduction channel between the electrodes. In the investigation of the radiation-induced accumulation of oxide charge and interface traps, a capacitance-voltage characterization study of n/$γ$- and $γ$-irradiated Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) capacitors showed that close agreement between measurement and simulation were possible when oxide charge density was complemented by both acceptor- and donor-type deep interface traps with densities comparable to the oxide charges. Corresponding inter-strip resistance simulations of a $n$-on-$p$ sensor with the tuned oxide charge density and interface traps show close agreement with experimental results. The beneficial impact of radiation-induced accumulation of deep interface traps on inter-electrode isolation may be considered in the optimization of the processing parameters of isolation implants on $n$-on-$p$ sensors for the extreme radiation environments.

Abstract Surface damage caused by ionizing radiation in SiO 2 passivated silicon particle detectors consists mainly of the accumulation of a positively charged layer along with trapped-oxide-charge and interface traps inside the oxide and close to the Si/SiO 2 -interface. High density positive interface net charge can be detrimental to the operation of a multi-channel n -on- p sensor since the inversion layer generated under the Si/SiO 2 -interface can cause loss of position resolution by creating a conduction channel between the electrodes. In the investigation of the radiation-induced accumulation of oxide charge and interface traps, a capacitance-voltage characterization study of n/ γ - and γ -irradiated Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) capacitors showed that close agreement between measurement and simulation were possible when oxide charge density was complemented by both acceptor- and donor-type deep interface traps with densities comparable to the oxide charges. Corresponding inter-strip resistance simulations of a n -on- p sensor with the tuned oxide charge density and interface traps show close agreement with experimental results. The beneficial impact of radiation-induced accumulation of deep interface traps on inter-electrode isolation may be considered in the optimization of the processing parameters of isolation implants on n -on- p sensors for the extreme radiation environments.

Liquid argon detectors are employed in a wide variety of nuclear and particle physics experiments. The addition of small quantities of xenon to argon modifies its scintillation, ionization, and electroluminescence properties and can improve its performance as a detection medium. However, a liquid argon-xenon mixture can develop instabilities, especially in systems that require phase transitions or that utilize high xenon concentrations. In this work, we analyze the causes of these instabilities and describe a small (liter-scale) apparatus with a unique cryogenic circuit specifically designed to handle argon-xenon mixtures. The system is capable of condensing argon gas mixed with $\mathcal{O}(1%)$ xenon by volume and maintains a stable liquid mixture near the xenon saturation limit while actively circulating it in the gas phase. We also demonstrate control over instabilities that develop when the detector condition is allowed to deviate from optimized settings. This progress enables future liquid argon detectors to benefit from the effects of high concentrations of xenon doping, such as more efficient detection of low-energy ionization signals. This work also develops tools to study and mitigate instabilities in large argon detectors that use low concentration xenon doping.

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are potential solid-state alternatives to traditional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) for single-photon detection. In this paper, we report on evaluating SensL MicroFC-10035-SMT SiPMs for their suitability as PMT alternatives. We successfully operated these devices in a liquid-xenon detector, which demonstrates that SiPMs can be used in noble element time projection chambers as photosensors. The devices were also cooled down to 170 K to observe dark count dependence on temperature. No dependencies on the direction of an applied 3.2 kV/cm electric field were observed with respect to dark-count rate, gain, or photon detection efficiency.

The Large Underground Xenon experiment (LUX) searches for dark matter using a dual-phase xenon detector. LUX uses a custom-developed trigger system for event selection. In this paper, the trigger efficiency, which is defined as the probability that an event of interest is selected for offline analysis, is studied using raw data obtained from both electron recoil (ER) and nuclear recoil (NR) calibrations. The measured efficiency exceeds 98% at a pulse area of 90 detected photons, which is well below the WIMP analysis threshold on the S2 pulse area. The efficiency also exceeds 98% at recoil energies of 0.2 keV and above for ER, and 1.3 keV and above for NR. The measured trigger efficiency varies between 99% and 100% over the fiducial volume of the detector.

Two-neutrino double electron capture is a process allowed in the Standard Model of Particle Physics. This rare decay has been observed in $^{78}$Kr, $^{130}$Ba and more recently in $^{124}$Xe. In this publication we report on the search for this process in $^{124}$Xe and $^{126}$Xe using the full exposure of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment, in a total of of 27769.5~kg-days. No evidence of a signal was observed, allowing us to set 90\% C.L. lower limits for the half-lives of these decays of $2.0\times10^{21}$~years for $^{124}$Xe and $1.9\times10^{21}$~years for $^{126}$Xe.

We report the first results of a search for leptophobic dark matter from the Coherent CAPTAIN-Mills (CCM) liquid argon (LAr) detector. An engineering run with 120 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and $17.9 \times 10^{20}$ POT was performed in Fall 2019 to study the characteristics of the CCM detector. The operation of this 10-ton detector was strictly light-based with a threshold of 50 keV and used coherent elastic scattering off argon nuclei to detect dark matter. Despite only 1.5 months of accumulated luminosity, contaminated LAr, and non-optimized shielding, CCM's first engineering run already achieved sensitivity to previously unexplored parameter space of light dark matter models with a baryonic vector portal. For a benchmark mediator-to-dark matter mass ratio of $m_{_{V_B}}/m_{\chi}=2.1$, dark matter masses within the range $9\,\text{MeV} \lesssim m_\chi \lesssim 50\,\text{MeV}$ have been excluded at 90% C.L. CCM's upgraded run with 200 PMTs, filtered LAr, improved shielding, and ten times more POT will be able to exclude the remaining thermal relic density parameter space of this model, as well as probe new parameter space of other leptophobic dark matter models.

Presented are the main design features and performance results of the Cathode Strip Chambers for the CMS Endcap Muon system. Although the strips are unusually wide (up to 16mm) for the cathode-to-anode wire distance of 5mm, the six-plane structure of these chambers yields a spatial resolution of about 80μm, essentially uniform and independent of the strip width. In addition, the net spatial resolution of about one-tenth of the strip width at the hardware trigger level (300ns) is obtained using a simple network of comparators. Time resolution achieved at the trigger level is ∼4ns (rms) that allows unambiguous tagging of bunch crossings which occur every 25ns. Aging test results, including those obtained with a recirculating gas system, are discussed; only minor aging affects were observed. The aging studies were performed with large-scale chambers; 700m of wire were irradiated for a dose up to 0.4C/cm of the total accumulated charge.

Author(s): Akerib, DS; Araujo, HM; Bai, X; Bailey, AJ; Balajthy, J; Bernard, E; Bernstein, A; Bradley, A; Byram, D; Cahn, SB; Carmona-Benitez, MC; Chan, C; Chapman, JJ; Chiller, AA; Chiller, C; Coffey, T; Currie, A; De Viveiros, L; Dobi, A; Dobson, J; Druszkiewicz, E; Edwards, B; Faham, CH; Fiorucci, S; Flores, C; Gaitskell, RJ; Gehman, VM; Ghag, C; Gibson, KR; Gilchriese, MGD; Hall, C; Hertel, SA; Horn, M; Huang, DQ; Ihm, M; Jacobsen, RG; Kazkaz, K; Knoche, R; Larsen, NA; Lee, C; Lenardo, B; Lesko, KT; Lindote, A; Lopes, MI; Malling, DC; Man-Nino, R; McKinsey, DN; Mei, DM; Mock, J; Moongweluwan, M; Morad, J; Murphy, ASJ; Nehrkorn, C; Nelson, H; Neves, F; Ott, RA; Pangilinan, M; Parker, PD; Pease, EK; Pech, K; Phelps, P; Reichhart, L; Shutt, T; Silva, C; Solovov, VN; Sorensen, P; O'Sullivan, K; Sumner, TJ; Szydagis, M; Tay-Lor, D; Tennyson, B; Tiedt, DR; Tripathi, M; Uvarov, S; Verbus, JR; Walsh, N; Webb, R; White, JT; Witherell, MS; Wolfs, FLH; Woods, M; Zhang, C | Abstract: The search for dark matter reaches back generations and remains one of the most compelling endeavors in the hunt for physics beyond the Standard Model. Experiments attempting to directly detect WIMP dark matter have made re-markable progress in increasing sensitivity to elastic scattering of WIMPs on nuclei. The LUX experiment is a 370-kg, two-phase, xenon TPC currently running at SURF, 4850 feet below Lead, SD. LUX recently completed its first science run and was sensitive to spin independent WIMP scattering at cross sections below 10-45 cm2 for WIMP masses of approximately 20 to 80 GeV. Preparations for the final science run of LUX are currently underway, with final results expected in 2015. We will present results from and current status of the LUX experiment, as well as plans for a follow-on, multi-ton-scale xenon experiment at SURF.

LUX, the world's largest dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber, with a fiducial target mass of 118 kg and 10,091 kg-days of exposure thus far, is currently the most sensitive direct dark matter search experiment. The initial null-result limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon scattering cross-section was released in October 2013, with a primary scintillation threshold of 2 phe, roughly 3 keVnr for LUX. The detector has been deployed at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, and is the first experiment to achieve a limit on the WIMP cross-section lower than $10^{-45}$ cm$^{2}$. Here we present a more in-depth discussion of the novel energy scale employed to better understand the nuclear recoil light and charge yields, and of the calibration sources, including the new internal tritium source. We found the LUX data to be in conflict with low-mass WIMP signal interpretations of other results.

Author(s): Malling, DC; Chapman, JJ; Faham, CH; Fiorucci, S; Gaitskell, RJ; Pangilinan, M; Verbus, JR; Akerib, DS; Bradley, A; Carmona-Benitez, MC; Clark, K; Coffey, T; Dragowsky, M; Gibson, KR; Lee, C; Phelps, P; Shutt, T; Araujo, HM; Currie, A; Sumner, TJ; Bai, X; Hanhardt, M; Bedikian, S; Bernard, E; Cahn, SB; Kastens, L; Larsen, N; Lyashenko, A; McKinsey, DN; Nikkel, JA; Bernstein, A; Carr, D; Dazeley, S; Kazkaz, K; Sorensen, P; Classen, T; Holbrook, B; Lander, R; Mock, J; Svoboda, R; Sweany, M; Szydagis, M; Thomson, J; Tripathi, M; Walsh, N; Woods, M; de Viveiros, L; Lindote, A; Lopes, MI; Neves, F; Silva, C; Solovov, V; Druszkiewicz, E; Skulski, W; Wolfs, FLH; Hall, C; Leonard, D; Ihm, M; Jacobsen, RG; Lesko, K; Majewski, P; Mannino, R; Stiegler, T; Webb, R; White, JT; Mei, DM; Spaans, J; Zhang, C; Morii, M; Wlasenko, M; Murphy, ASJ; Reichhart, L; Nelson, H | Abstract: © Proceedings of the 2011 Meeting of the Division of Particles and Fields of the American Physical Society, DPF 2011. All rights reserved. The LZ program consists of two stages of direct dark matter searches using liquid Xe detectors. The first stage will be a 1.5-3 tonne detector, while the last stage will be a 20 tonne detector. Both devices will benefit tremendously from research and development performed for the LUX experiment, a 350 kg liquid Xe dark matter detector currently operating at the Sanford Underground Laboratory. In particular, the technology used for cryogenics and electrical feedthroughs, circulation and purification, low-background materials and shielding techniques, electronics, calibrations, and automated control and recovery systems are all directly scalable from LUX to the LZ detectors. Extensive searches for potential background sources have been performed, with an emphasis on previously undiscovered background sources that may have a significant impact on tonne-scale detectors. The LZ detectors will probe spin-independent interaction cross sections as low as 5 × 10-49 cm2 for 100 GeV WIMPs, which represents the ultimate limit for dark matter detection with liquid xenon technology.

Observation of rotational curve of spiral galaxies shows that a large fraction (~23%) of the mass density of the universe is unaccounted for. Such a significant percentage of missing dark matter suggests that the universe may consist of new types of elementary particles. A compelling explanation for the new particles is the existence of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), which are non-baryonic particles characterized by particle physics theories beyond the Standard Model. WIMPs are believed to only interact through the weak force and gravity; hence the interaction cross section with ordinary matter is extremely small. Therefore, experimental techniques that combine low radioactivity, low energy thresholds, efficient discrimination against electronic recoil backgrounds, and scalability to large detector masses can only be performed at a deep underground environment where the interference of cosmic rays is obviated. In this paper, we report a cryogenic large liquid xenon detector for dark matter searches at Sanford Lab (Davis Cavern) in the Homestake Mine, USA. The goal of the large underground xenon (LUX) dual-phase detector is to clearly detect (or exclude) WIMPs with a spin independent cross-section per nucleon of 7 × 10−46 cm2, equivalent to ~0.5 events/100 kg/month in an inner 100 kg fiducial volume (FV) of a 300 kg LXe detector.

Future tracking detectors, such as those under development for the High Luminosity LHC, will require mechanical structures employing novel materials to reduce mass while providing excellent strength, thermal conductivity, and radiation tolerance. Adhesion methods for such materials are under study at present. This paper demonstrates the use of reactive bonding film as an adhesion method for bonding carbon foam.

We present an update of the development of an electromagnetic calorimeter for the Silicon Detector concept for a future linear electron-positron collider. After reviewing the design criteria and related simulation studies, we discuss progress in the research and development of the detector. This concept has from the outset made the case for highly integrated electronic readout with small (1 mm) readout gaps in order to maintain a small Moliere radius for electromagnetic showers and to avoid active heat removal. We now have fully functioning 1024-channel readout chips which have been successfully bonded to 15 cm silicon sensors. We present initial results from these assemblies.

The production, installation, and testing of 468 cathode strip chambers for the endcap muon system of the CMS experiment played a critical role in the preparation of the endcap muon system for the final commissioning. Common testing procedures and sets of standard equipment were used at 5 international assembly centers. The chambers were then thoroughly retested after shipment to CERN. Final testing was performed after chamber installation on the steel disks in the CMS detector assembly building. The structure of the detector quality control procedure is presented along with the results of chamber performance validation tests.

There is a particular class of unavoidable backgrounds that plague low-background experiments and rare event searches, particularly those searching for nuclear recoil event signatures: decaying daughters of the 238U nuclear decay chain, which result from radon plate-out on detector materials. One such daughter isotope, 210Po, undergoes α-decay and produces a recoiling 103 keV 206Pb nucleus. To characterize this important background in the context of noble element detectors, we have implemented a triggered source for these 206Pb recoils in a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber (Xe TPC) within the Davis Xenon R&D testbed system (DAX). By adhering 210Po to the surface of a PIN diode and electrically floating the diode on the cathode of the TPC, we tag the α signals produced in the PIN diode and trigger on the correlated nuclear recoils in the liquid xenon (LXe). We discuss our methods for 210Po deposition, electronic readout of the PIN diode signals at high voltage, and analysis methods for event selection.

We summarize recent R&amp;D progress for a silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter (ECal) with integrated electronics, designed to meet the ILC physics requirements.

Dual-phase xenon TPC detectors are a highly scalable and widely used technology to search for low-energy nuclear recoil signals from WIMP dark matter or coherent nuclear scattering of $\sim$MeV neutrinos. Such experiments expect to measure O(keV) ionization or scintillation signals from such sources. However, at $\sim1\,$keV and below, the signal calibrations in liquid xenon carry large uncertainties that directly impact the assumed sensitivity of existing and future experiments. In this work, we report a new measurement of the ionization yield of nuclear recoil signals in liquid xenon down to 0.3$\,$keV$\,\,$-- the lowest energy calibration reported to date -- at which energy the average event produces just 1.1~ionized~electrons. Between 2 and 6$\,$keV, our measurements agree with existing measurements, but significantly improve the precision. At lower energies, we observe a decreasing trend that deviates from simple extrapolations of existing data. We also study the dependence of ionization yield on the applied drift field in liquid xenon between 220V/cm and 6240V/cm, allowing these measurements to apply to a broad range of current and proposed experiments with different operating parameters.

The Keck Solar Two Gamma-Ray Observatory is a ground-based instrument is being developed to detect 20-300 GeV gamma rays by sampling the Cherenkov light generated as gamma rays and cosmic rays interact with the atmosphere. The observatory utilizes the Solar Two Pilot Power Plant in Barstow, California (Figure 1) which has the largest heliostat mirror area in the world. It has over 1,818 heliostats each with about 41 m<SUP>2</SUP> mirror area. The total active area is over 75,000 m<SUP>2</SUP>. Thus, Keck Solar Two Gamma Ray Observatory has the potential to be the most sensitive ground-based gamma-ray detector between 20-300 GeV. The secondary mirror systems, each capable of viewing 32 heliostats has been designed. The secondary mirror systems also include the photomultiplier tube (PMT) camera, electronics, and heliostat field. The first secondary camera has been manufactured and it is being calibrated. Work on building the second secondary camera system with 32 heliostats has been started. When the second system is completed a 64 heliostat telescope will be ready to observe 50-300 GeV gamma rays. Further enlargement of the telescope to 128 or 256 heliostat is expected to lower the energy threshold to about 20 GeV.

The CMS Cathode Strip Chamber electronic system consists of on-chamber mounted boards, peripheral electronics in VME 9U crates, and a track finder in the counting room [1]. The Trigger Motherboard (TMB) matches the anode and cathode tags called Local Charged Tracks (LCT) and sends the two best combined LCT’s from each chamber to the Muon Port Card (MPC). Each MPC collects data representing muon tags from up to nine TMB’s, which corresponds to one sector of the CSC chambers. All TMB’s and the MPC are located in the 9U*400 mm VME crates mounted on the periphery of return yoke of the endcap muon system. The MPC selects data representing the three best muons and sends it over optical links to the Sector Processor (SP) residing in the underground counting room. The current electronics layout assumes 60 MPC modules residing in the 60 peripheral crates for both muon endcaps and 12 SP’s residing in one 9U VME crate in the counting room. Due to the high operating frequency of 40.08MHz and the 100 m cable run from the detector to the counting room, an optical link is the only choice for data transmission between these systems. Our goal was to separately prototype this optical link intended for the communication between the MPC and SP using existing commercial components. Our initial design based on the Agilent HDMP-1022/1024 chipset and Methode MDX-19-4-1-T optical transceivers was reported at the 6 Workshop on Electronics for LHC Experiments [2] a year ago. Data transmission of 120 bits representing three muons at 40 MHz would require as many as twelve HDMP chipsets and 12 optical transceivers on a single receiver card. This solution has disadvantages such as relatively large power consumption and component areas on both the transmitter and receiver boards. Studies of the later triggering stages also show that a reduction in the number of bits representing three muons can be made without compromising the system performance. The new list of bits is shown in Table 1. Table 1: Data delivered from a Muon Port Card to Sector Processor Signal Bits per 1 muon Bits per 3 muons Description Valid Pattern Flag 1 3 “1” when data is valid Half-strip ID [7..0] 8 24 1⁄2 strip ID number Quality [7..0] 8 24 ALCT+CLCT+ bend quality Wire ID [6..0] 7 21 Wire group ID Accelerator muon 1 3 Straight wire pattern CSC ID [3..0] 4 12 Chamber ID in a sector BXN [1..0] 2 6 2 LSB of BX number

We present the status and prospects of the LUX experiment, which employs approximately 300 kg of two-phase xenon to search for WIMP dark matter interactions. The LUX detector was commissioned at the surface laboratory of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, SD, between December 2011 and February 2012 and the detector has been operating underground since January, 2013. These proceedings review the results of the commissioning run as well as the status of underground data-taking through the summer of 2013.